Dr. Jonathan Vahue-Rubin, a
chiropractor from Kalamazoo, MI testified about his breast-feeding wife’s
insensitive treatment at the hands of a jury clerk during the hearing of the
Michigan House Judiciary Committee concerningMichigan House Bill 4455 on October 14, 2003. Here are
excerpts from his testimony:

Just over three months ago,
my wife and I had our first child. Her name is Eliana and she is a beauty.
Just over two months ago my wife received her very first summons to jury
duty. Now, my wife wanted to do her civic duty, but we had elected to breastfeed our child.

When my wife called the
jury clerk she was told that no, breastfeeding children
are not allowed to accompany mother into the jury box. So my wife told the clerk that
she intended to breastfeed for one year and could she please have
a deferment for that year. At this point, the jury clerk told her she was
willing to grant her a 6-month deferment, and that was all she was going to
get, because in fact she did not have to excuse my wife at all and was being
quite generous!

This was where I called. I
identified myself as a doctor, and began to explain to this clerk the risks
and difficulty this would pose for our daughter since we intended to nurse
for one year. The clerk told me that she had breastfed too, and that 6 months seemed more than long enough for anybody. I asked her if it made
any difference that the Surgeon General of the United States now recommends
nursing for one year. She told me that state law gives her the right to deny any
request for deferment based on breastfeeding, and that her 6-month ‘kindness’ to us was final!

Excerpts from Dr. Jonathan Vahue-Rubin’s testimony in support of
Michigan House Bill 4455, which would
have allowed parents or guardians having active care and custody of a child
under the age of 4 (during the courts’ normal hours of operation), to defer
jury service, upon request. Testimony was given at the Michigan House
Judiciary Committee meeting October 14, 2003. The above link will explain how you can help with ongoing
efforts to enact this worthy, family-affirming initiative.